"Help - my child is gifted!"

[philmophlegm]

Yesterday I had a meeting with a teacher from a local school* about the possibility of us doing some skills courses for pupils there - presentation skills, leadership, teambuilding, interview skills, making an impact - that sort of thing.

One of the ideas he threw at me at the end of the meeting (I think he thought of it there and then) was courses for parents, specifically parents of 'G&Ts'. In education-speak, G&Ts are Gifted & Talented children - gifted academically or talented musically, artistically or athletically. This teacher is Head of G&T at his school and he wondered if parents of G&T children would benefit from some advice on how to be the best parents they could to a G&T child.

There's plenty of this sort of advice on the internet. But since many of the people reading this were probably G&T children, I would be interested in hearing what did or didn't work for you. What did your parents do to help you? Did it work? Or was it counter-productive? I would be especially interested if, like me, you were G&T (I was G, I'm definitely not remotely T) but your parents weren't (mine have two O-levels between them). I'd also be interested in hearing from teachers and academics dealing with G&T students. And finally, I'd be interested in hearing the experiences of any parents who have G&T children.









* Non-selective state secondary. This one in fact.

Comments

[woodpijn.livejournal.com]

Really interesting question for me as a former child and current parent. I'm in the category you refer to: my parents have no A-levels.

The number one thing I would have liked as a child would have been gifted classmates / friends / peers. My parents decided to move me from state to private at the age of 8, which was very generous of them, but I think it was probably counterproductive. The private school was tiny - fewer than 30 in an entire year group - so I was effortlessly top in everything, whereas in a large state school I probably would have had some equals just on statistical grounds. I would have loved for my intelligence to be a source of fun and challenge with a group of like-minded people, rather than a source of social isolation, and I would have liked some incentive to try hard in class rather than coasting. (This did all mean that when I got to Cambridge and got all those things it was wonderful).

I would also have liked regular access to a library (OK, there was the school library, but it was tiny and mostly stocked with early 20th century school stories). I was very lacking in new reading material. I had about a hundred books at home which I re-read far too often and knew far too well.

One thing they did which was very good was to get me a computer, and my dad taught me what he knew of programming. I had fun and learned a lot. I floundered a bit, because this was before we had the internet (with its tutorials and reference guides and Q&A forums) and I had no one to teach me where my dad was too busy or his knowledge left off; but it was still definitely a Good Thing.

Another good thing was just having people around who sometimes shared interesting things with me. My nan taught me Pig Latin and those logic puzzles with the grids, my mum taught me cryptic crosswords, and I think my grandpa taught me chess.

I now have a 3-year-old who's looking to turn out very bright as well. I think things will go better for her just because she's in Cambridge and will go to school with the children of other Cambridge people, and because we and so many of our friends and their kids are geeks of one sort or another, and can teach her things and help/encourage her with her own hobbies.

Summary: 1) Other clever people, 2) Books.

[kargicq.livejournal.com]

Completely agree with the summary. Parents can provide (2) but schools are there for (1), and large schools are probably better than small ones for that reason. Location is definitely important!

[resonant.livejournal.com]

Completely agree.

A library card and unlimited transportation to the library would be great.

If there is no good library nearby, a good e-reader compatible with the e-books from your local library system, plus a gift card for e-books. And don't criticize what they read - any reading will improve their literacy.

And a decent internet connection, so if there are no clever people physically present, they can find intelligent friends online.

[f4f3.livejournal.com]

That's a very good point - I was at a large comprehensive, and that meant I had about half a dozen peers. I still felt like a freak most of the time, but I wasn't the only Slan on the block.

[woodpijn.livejournal.com]

Another thought - and something your school can sensibly provide - interesting (optional) extracurricular activities.

My school didn't do many because it was small and there was limited demand for them and limited staff to run them, but there was a lunchtime chess club which ran for about a term, and a lunchtime debating club which also ran for about a term, and I went to both. There was never a computing club, sadly, but my husband's school had one and it sounds like it was great for kids to learn to program and write games, and learn from each other and enjoy playtesting each other's games.